Daley's impressive night began with his first playoff goal with Pittsburgh and the fifth of his NHL career. After the Capitals took a 1-0 lead on Jay Beagle's goal 2:58 into the first period, Daley answered when Washington was seemingly riding a wave of momentum with a 6-3 shot advantage.
With Sidney Crosby battling Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen near the top of the crease, Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist dropped a pass to Daley. Goalie Braden Holtby lost track of the play and slightly kicked off to his right, allowing Daley to sneak a shot past his left pad at 9:16.
When the Chicago Blackhawks traded Daley to Pittsburgh for defenseman Rob Scuderi on Dec. 14, Daley said he didn't believe he would be in his current position.
"It's funny how this game works; you stick with it and good things happen," Daley said. "I'm just grateful for the opportunity here. I'm in a good place here and I'm enjoying this with a great group of guys. We're enjoying this. We just play. That's been our motto since I got here."
Daley wasn't alone. Brian Dumoulin chipped in two assists during his 22:10 of ice time. Pittsburgh's other four defensemen, Justin Schultz, Derrick Pouliot, Ian Cole and Ben Lovejoy, each logged more than 17 minutes.
"I thought they were terrific. The whole group of them," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "[Letang] is a tough guy to replace. He's an elite player, so a lot of guys had to step up and play more minutes, play more significant roles. I though the group of them did a tremendous job."
Since Game 3, the Penguins repeatedly said there was no replacing Letang, their defensive leader, who has averaged 29:14 in eight playoff games. They will have Letang back on Saturday, but for one game, Daley was a more-than-adequate substitute.
"I think, first and foremost, [Daley] play unbelievably," Cole said. "He had 20 minutes through two periods. So yeah, he was unbelievable. But I think everyone took a chunk of that. Nobody's going to be able to play 35 [minutes] and do it like [Letang] does it, but I think everyone contributed and took a couple extra minutes, and did it very well."